Pump houses need insulation, and make them as physically small as possible too (not too small that the heat lamps cause a fire of course) .. putting down insulation on the ground around the pump floor also helps ..
if you have a removable roof you can rig up brackets so it can reattach and while its off spray with the spray foam and make sure it fits well .. then reattach using the brackets.
They make foam with silver backing that is about 2 inches thick, this can be cut to fit in between the joists or studs.
Cold water pipes can be insulated with pool noodles from the dollar store .. The ones that have the hole in center, use a razor and slice down.
Ria
GARDEN STUFF:
Mos,
If you are tight on space try a mix of SWC & raised beds
This next year I hopefully will be making some SWC (self watering containers) from plastic totes. They are in the yard and never made it into the shed, hopefully they won't crack from weight of snow and ice. These can be put anywhere even on the driveway
Have some raised beds, which are pretty tight plant wise. In my 2x10 and can get 31 tomatoes in it. Absolutely NO weeds cause its so close. I found the 4x4 were really hard on backs, so I use 3x5's. If you make rows with the raised beds its more efficent for space
I have really really good dirt. Hopefully this year will have good weather for the garden so I can can up my 'maters
__________________
Tragedy, sadness, loneliness and despair taught me that life is really a beautiful thing; if it wasn't I wouldn't be able to recognize that anything was wrong - Lynn in Virginia
If you have a pump in the water you can do away with the pump house. We took the electric line from the water in the water and extended it up to the house basement and hooked it directly into the pressure tank and from the pressure tank into the electric circuit breaker box. Now it gets turned on and off as we use the water and the pressure tank clicks on and off. It was a happy day when I was able to kiss my pump house good bye!
We just built a fenced area and put in 32 raised garden beds. We made the beds out of cement center blocks because they don't rot and they don't leach harmful chemicals into the soil as lumber does. We filled them with an equal mix of compost, rice hulls(or vermiculite) and peat moss. When we replant we add another 1 cup of compost to every 1 foot square area. We can grow everything we need for the whole year plus we have a few others who subscribe and we take them baskets every week and that pays for our garden. We started last year with 10 beds and this coming year will be the first year we start with all 32 beds. We might be able to extend our offering to more than the 10 we have now. They each paid $15 per week and took whatever we brought. If we offered down in Kansas City or up in Des Moines we'd make a lot more and have many more takers but I don't want to have to deliver 90 miles away. We'll stay with what we have this coming year so it stays local. The government inspector does come out a couple times during the year to check as we as organic. We bought compost last year because we added more beds than we could come up with our own compost and one load we got tested bad. I had it tested because it didn't feel right to me and sure enough it was 87% clay and was full of chemicals. Had a whole pallet of the stuff and a neighbor bought it from us to fill a hole on his farm. So we test every load now just to make sure what we are getting. We stay organic because that's what we want for ourselves and it's nice to be able to tell those we sell to that we are organic and be able to prove it.
Sorry so long, I've been breaking out with hives today and taking benidril to calm it down and in a kind of daze today not thinking clearly! Sure hope we can figure out what's causing the hives!
after a while the pool noodles break down and leave pieces all over the pool or water, recycling them for insulation is better than just tossing.
Not sure if they can tolerate the heat from hot water pipes or not. Bought insulation covers are a denser foam, but if you have none, noodles would be better than nothing
actually, I'm not short on space Ria. I have an acre -- my home is smack, dab in the middle -- so I have 1/2 in front and then in back. however, 1/4 in front is a natural area that I leave to the Mother as insulation and camouflage from the road. I'd like to plant some ornamental trees and flowers that I lost during the fire and if I get that darned, old pump house out of the way I can plant some more -- it's huge! 6X4! I do plant raised beds because my soil is mostly clay, sand, and rock. I build 2X2 boxes and plant in those, so before the fire, I had 'boxes' everywhere in front with little paths in between for tending the back yard, which was fenced was for the dog. I had to let poor Chester go a few months ago -- very aggressive bone cancer -- and I just haven't had the heart to adopt another dog yet. I did adopt another cat so Beauty and I have another cuddle-buddy back to the yard... while I was living in a hotel for months after the fire, poison ivy invaded the back yard and is rampant! ACK! so my task, come warmer weather is to attack that and then I'm considering adapting my front-yard strategy to the back yard for more herbs and veggies. I'm hoping that by the end of the summer, I will have saved enough money (from not having to purchase produce) from my efforts to purchase a freezer to freeze all of my efforts. I would so love to be able to have most of my veggies for the winter in the freezer and not in a grocery store! LOL! my gardening this year was poor due to the drought, in spite of the fact that I had some milk jugs in the boxes with water. the heat was awful! evaporation was incredible! okay! I've babbled enough! LOL!
I was just thinking of going with the concrete blocks due to the cost of lumber (and the fact that it burns;-() when I read your post. I think I'll try that route! I actually have a stash of blocks for about three boxes sitting over on the side that the contractors left behind. I was angry at first that they didn't take all of their materials with them, then decided that I might find some use for them I'm sure it was accidental that they left them behind, but I figure it's been a year...sooo....
POISON IVY:
here in Maine we have something that is called 'spring bamboo' its really Japanese something or other .. originally it was an ornamental they thought would be great to spread - well it DID everywhere. So far the only thing that has killed it for good, is about 3 layers of carpet, left for at least 3 years (better if you go for 5)
Supposedly goats eat poison ivy, but other than trying the carpet I don't know how you are going to get it out of there.
Keep some bleach around to scrub down with in case you get into it. Bert works in a paper mill and they get it in there and thats the 'cure'. Got any jewelweed growing? its suposed to help with the reaction.
DOGS:
I understand wanting to wait for another dog. We used to have chows and it took a long time after they died before we got another dog (Bangor was poisoned and She died years later from cancer). These were the best dogs, fantastic with my kids and anyone elses, very protective of littles. Dobie was a dob/rot cross (who was the dumbest biggest baby) great with kids, the seizures got really bad before she died. Now we have a setter retriever cross, smart but not too crazy about some kids, but was fantastic at Lammas (so maybe it has to do with who is around) .. Well maybe smart, come to think of it he's been hit by a skunk 3 times so far
GARDEN:
well if you can get them manuvered around to make the boxes, sounds like a winner. You can put carpet under the blocks and boxes if you have the poison ivy where you want the garden.
When Bert bought camp he never checked the soil. We have 2 ft of clay - he thinks we can just add compost to it LMAO.. I told him we could add compost from now until we die and it still will be nasty. He eventually wants to move there (closer to work), its also 2 more frost lines away so the growing season is much shorter.
Our gardens last year were dry in the spring and flooded the summer - pretty much useless. Another reason I am thinking about doing the SWC, water won't evap as easily and if its too wet I can cover or dump
yeah, my immunity to poison ivy ran out last summer. Chester had apparently been wallowing in it and got the oil on his coat and I always gave him a big hug when he came back inside. within hours, my right arm, neck, and part of my face was covered in a rash. it was so bad that I had to go to the doctor for steroids. I have a 'kit' now at the back door for when I knowingly expose myself! LOL!
maybe if I work the back yard in sections with the boxes and trying your carpet suggestion, I can eventually smother it and then cut up the carpet in between the boxes. the English ivy that I planted along the west side seems to be holding the enemy at bay and covering the ground nicely. it's crept out about 12 feet from the fence line and runs the entire length of the back yard, which is what I had planned when I planted it ten years ago. I'll have to keep an eye on it as I don't want an entire yard of English ivy! LOL!
TOTW Award(s): 1
mos
faxonfive
Linear Mode
